


Broken Friendship

by TheSovereigntyofReality



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Child Death, F/M, You Have Been Warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 10:45:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12297573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSovereigntyofReality/pseuds/TheSovereigntyofReality
Summary: In 1970, Peggy and Howard stopped talking to each other.Their friendship was broken and Howard left S.H.I.E.L.D.This is why.





	Broken Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine**

‘Are you all right, Peg?’

Peggy Carter said nothing. She stared at the three gravestones before her. When Howard Stark had married Maria Collins Carbonell, she had doubted he truly loved her. She wasn’t pregnant, so Peg had always assumed he was getting pressure from all around. Yes, she doubted he loved his wife.

But Peg had never doubted he loved his children.

ARNOLD PATRICK STARK  
1959-1970

CHRISTINE ARLENE STARK  
1961-1970

LUCAS SAMUEL STARK  
1965-1970

The names of the three children, now lost, were engraved on gleaming headstones in gold leaf. Howard and Maria had both adored all three children. They were all as brilliant as their father and soaked up information like little sponges. 11 year old Arno had even looked to be graduating elementary school early, he was so clever. Howard had watched their every step and told all of them that whoever got his business degree first would get to inherit the company, to “instil a healthy sense of competition into them” he’d said.

Then, one day, something dreadful had happened. Peg still remembered when they found them. All three had piled on top of each other, but they hadn’t been put there. A blade of some sort had been stabbed through them, going right through their chests and piercing their hearts: first Arno’s, and then Chrissie’s, and then Luke’s. But the fourth Stark child had been spared. His brothers and sister had sacrificed themselves, protecting him with their own bodies.

Anthony Edward Stark…

The look on Howard’s face when he saw three of his children dead. Peg knew she would have to suffer just as he had to ever understand that. Well…she understood it now. At the time, she hadn’t seen his following rage as justified. She had lost far more people than just the three of them. But Jarvis had been quick to pass little Tony into his father’s arms, stopping Howard’s nonsensical screaming.

The next morning it was all over the news.

STARK HEIRS BRUTALLY MURDERED

The entire nation seemed to plunge into mourning.

Flags were flown at half-mast all over the country. So many people had worn black. There had even been a Memorial March for the three children. Thousands of people sent sympathy cards to the Starks. Flowers were laid down at the base of the Stark Industries office building, taken to Stark Mansion. So many flowers had been sent in fact that both places had been absolutely blanketed with them.

At the joint funerals, it seemed the entire city had lined up at the gates of the church. There had been so many of them that roads had been blocked out three blocks each way. The NY police, who were comically famous for saying “move along, move along”, actually directed traffic around the mass of people.

Even Col. Phillips came back from active duty to attend.

A few days after, Peg had gone to see Howard about a new case. To be fair, everyone had warned her to leave them be. Every single person who knew she was going in told her they’d just lost most of their children and they needed to grieve now. Hell, even Jack Thompson had said it!

‘No,’ Howard said as soon as she stepped into the room.

Peggy was pulled up short. Howard was in his rec room, shooting billiards – by himself from the looks of it. Maria sat back in one of the chairs, little Tony on her knee. Peg had frowned. ‘You don’t even know what I’m about to say, Howard. You can’t turn me down just like that.’

‘I don’t know what you’re going to say, but I have a pretty good idea. The answer is no.’ Howard glared at her. ‘Three of my babies are dead because of a guy you ticked off.’

‘I have a job to do, Howard.’ Peggy glared right back. ‘You’ve suffered loss from it, yes, but that is no reason to throw a temper tantrum over—’

‘Temper tantrum?’ Howard demanded. ‘You call this a temper tantrum?’

‘I’ve suffered loss too, you know. I never let it stop me.’

‘No,’ Howard said. ‘Let’s review that, shall we? Your brother? Oh, wait. He turned up alive, didn’t he? How’s he doing, by the way? Settling in with his new wife, is he?’ He didn’t want an answer and they both knew it. ‘Steve? Best guy there? Well, I guess he made his choice. I would’ve known how to land that plane but no one told me until after it crashed.’

And sorry, but that stung.

‘You’ve never had children,’ Howard hissed. ‘So you’ve certainly never had to bury any. And now I have to bury three. None of ‘em had even hit puberty yet. And why did they die? Because of you! I’ve only got one left and I’ll be damned if I let him anywhere near your influence. From now on, consider Stark Industries and all affiliated properties and persons off-limits.’

Peg drew back as if she’d been slapped.

‘Jarvis will show you out.’ Howard went over to Maria and took her and Tony out of the room.

Peg would never know how long it would take Howard and Maria to stop blaming her and acknowledge she had no way to stop it. She would never know that they ever did forgive her. But they never regretted the decision to walk away from her. It brought Tony a much happier childhood than he would have had otherwise.

**30 Years Later**

Steve looked over as the car stopped. ‘Where are we?’

‘Cemetery,’ Fury said. He pointed. ‘See that bunch there?’

Steve looked. There was a group of four standing over three graves. One of them was a black man in a military uniform. One was a young redheaded woman. One was a slightly heavy-set man. The fourth man was the only one kneeling. He was carefully arranging flowers over the three graves. The other three stood at his back respectfully.

‘Who are they?’

‘The guy kneeling is Howard’s son, Tony.’

Howard got married and had a son? That was a surprise! Steve looked at the man on his knees again. Come to think of it, he did look like Howard. There were a few subtle differences but nothing really to shake a stick at. Fury went on, explaining the other three.

‘The rest of ‘em are to him what the Howling Commandos were to you.’

The thought of the Commandos brought a sadness to Steve, but he understood what Fury meant. Those people were Tony’s friends. They were always there to back him up when he needed it. So, then, who could be buried there that they stood with him as he knelt over the graves?

Soon, though, he got up and they all left. This was when Fury took Steve out of the car and up to the graves. ‘Originally, Howard and his wife, Maria, had four kids.’

Then Steve saw the tombs. His heart sank. Howard’s other three children were buried here. Arnold had died at 11, Christine at 9, and Lucas at 5. But why had they died? And how had Tony survived this? Could Steve have saved them if he’d been around. ‘What happened?’

Fury told him, from start to finish. It answered his questions, but it gave him a new one.

‘Why did they blame Peg? She couldn’t have done anything.’

Fury nodded. ‘You never had to bury kids. Barton could explain it best. Even though he’s never had to bury any, he’s got two kids. When a parent has to bury a kid, never mind three, it’s a comfort to be able to point the finger at someone else. If there is a convenient person to blame nearby, they’ll generally get blamed.’

‘Did they ever get over it?’

‘Eventually. They just needed time to recover and acknowledge that Carter had no way of seeing it coming and had no way of stopping it. But they stood by their decision that Tony was better away from this sort of thing. For the rest of their lives, they were terrified of losing Tony the way they lost his brothers and sister.’

That, Steve could understand.

**Author's Note:**

> I've always felt that Peg uses people when it's convenient for her in Agent Carter, especially Howard, and she gets away with it. This was basically me wanting to see some consequences for that.


End file.
